Worker’s Comp – Just A Few Notes…

When discussing with businesses about their different insurance needs, one conversation that is almost sure to spark quite a colorful conversation is when we discuss their Worker’s Compensation Insurance needs. It doesn’t matter what type of business you run, if you have employees, state law mandates that you carry Worker’s Compensation Insurance on those employees. Worker’s Compensation Insurance purpose is to provide coverage for your company’s employee’s medical expenses and some portion of lost wages should that employee suffer an injury while on the job.

Look at worker’s compensation insurance as a state-regulated, no-fault liability insurance which will cover your company’s employee’s medical expenses, lost wages rehabilitation services, or death resulting from a work-related injury or illness. Regardless of fault, in the event one of your company’s employees should suffer an injury on the job, they are eligible for worker’s compensation benefits. Those same Orange County worker’s compensation benefits will apply should an illness or injury occur in the performance of their job conducting an employer’s business as well. With this type of coverage, in most cases, it will protect an employer from being sued by an injured worker. It would be extremely prudent for your business to learn and research what set of rules regarding worker’s compensation insurance from the state guidelines, and if your company also has employees who travel to work in other states, it is imperative that you make your carrier aware of this so they will be covered out of state, as well.

After gathering all the information from the client, including all the appropriate classification codes that will be used, the quote is presented and, with it, a list of guidelines for the owner to follow as far as keeping track making sure the employee’s time cards match with the proper codes, which, for any owner, will be a very tall task. It seems, right after the presentation, the one comment we almost always hear is maybe it would be much simpler to 1099 workers as independent contractors, and then there wouldn’t be all this paperwork and hassle associated with worker’s comp. With the way the state comp fund and worker’s comp companies adhere to the strict regulations and rules in place, it is just not that simple anymore to just 1099 workers.

To make sure you are following the rules concerning the use of independent contractors, we suggest you consult the state compensation board, the insurance carrier, and, if need be, your attorney. We understand there are numerous activities when keeping up with the day to day operations, that you, as the owner are responsible for, from keeping your current clients satisfied, looking for new clients, and making sure of inventory, ordering, and payroll among the many items that need to be managed as not to eat into the bottom line. The company’s worker’s compensation should be a top priority for any owner because if unattended to, the costs could really get away and cost the company thousands of dollars wasted.

As many business owners will tell you, work-related injuries can be costly, time-consuming and, in some cases, be tragic and a legal nightmare. From company to company, work-related injuries can vary dramatically from falling off a roof or ladder, repetitive motion injuries, slip-and-fall accidents to a machine entanglement or, worse, a tragic death occurrence. The most common claim is overexertion injuries, costing American companies well over $15 billion each year. It’s very important that a company should choose the proper worker’s compensation insurance for their particular company’s worker’s compensation needs.

PJO Insurance Brokerage has access to numerous worker’s comp carriers and even has comp markets for those hard to place industries like framers, welders, long & short haul drivers, and roofers. If you are looking for worker’s compensation insurance for your company, please call or email us, and let PJO Insurance Brokerage help you find the California business insurance carrier to suit your company’s worker’s comp needs.

Patrick O’Neill – Owner